Using a Mobile App for Monitoring Post-Operative Quality of Recovery of Patients at Home: A Feasibility Study

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Abstract

Background

Mobile apps are being viewed as a new solution for post-operative monitoring of surgical patients. Mobile phone monitoring of patients in the post-operative period can allow expedited discharge and may allow early detection of complications.

Objective

The objective of the current study was to assess the feasibility of using a mobile app for the monitoring of post-operative quality of recovery at home following surgery in an ambulatory setting.

Methods

We enrolled 65 consecutive patients (n=33, breast reconstruction surgery; n=32, orthopedic surgery) and asked them to use a mobile phone daily to complete a validated quality of recovery scale (QoR-9) and take photographs of the surgical site for the first 30 days post-op. Surgeons were asked to review patient-entered data on each patient in their roster daily. A semistructured questionnaire was administered to patients and surgeons to assess satisfaction and feasibility of the mobile device.

Results

All 65 patients completed the study. The mean number of logins was 23.9 (range 7-30) for the breast patients and 19.3 (range 5-30) for the orthopedic patients. The mean number of logins was higher in the first 14 days compared to the 15-30 days post-op for both breast patients (13.4 vs 10.5; P<.001) and for the orthopedic patients (13.4 vs 6.0; P<.001). The mean score for overall satisfaction with using the mobile device was 3.9 for breast patients and 3.7 for orthopedic patients (scored from 1 (poor) to 4 (excellent)). Surgeons reported on the easy-to-navigate design, the portability to monitor patients outside of hospital, and the ability of the technology to improve time efficiency.

Conclusions

The use of mobile apps for monitoring the quality of recovery in post-operative patients at home was feasible and acceptable to patients and surgeons in the current study. Future large scale studies in varying patient populations are required.

Related collections

Most cited references 16

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Validity and reliability of a postoperative quality of recovery score: the QoR-40.

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Quality of recovery after anaesthesia is an important measure of the early postoperative health status of patients. We attempted to develop a valid, reliable and responsive measure of quality of recovery after anaesthesia and surgery. We studied 160 patients and asked them to rate postoperative recovery using three methods: a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS), a nine-item questionnaire and a 50-item questionnaire; the questionnaires were repeated later on the same day. From these results, we developed a 40-item questionnaire as a measure of quality of recovery (QoR-40; maximum score 200). We found good convergent validity between QoR-40 and VAS (r = 0.68, P < 0.001). Construct validity was supported by a negative correlation with duration of hospital stay (rho = -0.24, P < 0.001) and a lower mean QoR-40 score in women (162 (SD 26)) compared with men (173 (17)) (P = 0.002). There was also good test-retest reliability (intra-class ri = 0.92, P < 0.001), internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.93, P < 0.001) and split-half coefficient (alpha = 0.83, P < 0.001). The standardized response mean, a measure of responsiveness, was 0.65. The QoR-40 was completed in less than 6.3 (4.9) min. We believe that the QoR-40 is a good objective measure of quality of recovery after anaesthesia and surgery. It would be a useful end-point in perioperative clinical studies.

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Effectiveness of telemedical applications in postoperative follow-up after total joint arthroplasty.

Behnam Sharareh, Ran Schwarzkopf (2014)

We hypothesized that a postoperative clinical telemedicine tool will be effective in reducing the total number of unscheduled postoperative clinic visits and calls while increasing patient satisfaction. The medical charts of 34 patients who underwent telemedicine follow-up during their postoperative care were compared to that of 44 patients who did undergo telemedicine follow-up. There were 14 unscheduled clinic visits in the non-telemedicine follow-up group compared to only 3 in the telemedicine follow-up group (P = 0.01). There were 40 in-clinic calls made by patients in the non-telemedicine follow-up group compared to only 6 made by patients in the telemedicine group (P < 0.01). In addition, patients who underwent telemedicine follow-up rated their postoperative satisfaction higher than those who did not undergo telemedicine follow-up.

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Is Open Access

Issues in mHealth: Findings From Key Informant Interviews

Robyn Whittaker (2012)

Background mHealth is enjoying considerable interest and private investment in the United States. A small but growing body of evidence indicates some promise in supporting healthy behavior change and self-management of long-term conditions. The unique benefits mobile phones bring to health initiatives, such as direct access to health information regardless of time or location, may create specific issues for the implementation of such initiatives. Other issues may be shared with general health information technology developments. Objective To determine the important issues facing the implementation of mHealth from the perspective of those within the US health system and those working in mHealth in the United States. Methods Semistructured interviews were conducted with 27 key informants from across the health and mHealth sectors in the United States. Interviewees were approached directly following an environmental scan of mHealth in the United States or recommendation by those working in mHealth. Results The most common issues were privacy and data security, funding, a lack of good examples of the efficacy and cost effectiveness of mHealth in practice, and the need for more high-quality research. The issues are outlined and categorized according to the environment within which they predominantly occur: policy and regulatory environments; the wireless industry; the health system; existing mHealth practice; and research. Conclusions Many of these issues could be addressed by making the most of the current US health reform environment, developing a strategic and coordinated approach, and seeking to improve mHealth practice.

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Author and article information

Contributors

John L Semple:

Women\'s College HospitalDepartment of SurgeryUniversity of Toronto76 Grenville StToronto, ON, M5S 1B2Canada1 416 323 75551 416 323 7710john.semple@wchospital.ca

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2284-7977

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

Journal ID (publisher-id): JMU

Title: JMIR mHealth and uHealth

Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc. (Toronto, Canada )

ISSN (Electronic): 2291-5222

Publication date Collection: Jan-Mar 2015

Publication date (Electronic): 12 February 2015

Volume: 3

Issue: 1

Electronic Location Identifier: e18

Affiliations

[1] ¹Women\'s College Hospital Department of Surgery University of Toronto Toronto, ONCanada

[2] ²Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation University of Toronto Toronto, ONCanada

[3] ³The Hospital for Sick Children Division of Orthopedics Toronto, ONCanada

[4] ⁴University of Toronto Department of Surgery Toronto, ONCanada

[5] ⁵Women's College Research Institute Toronto, ONCanada

[6] ⁶University of Toronto Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing Toronto, ONCanada

Author notes

Corresponding Author: John L Semple john.semple@ 123456wchospital.ca

Author information

John L Semple http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2284-7977

Sarah Sharpe http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6310-5315

M Lucas Murnaghan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9086-9193

John Theodoropoulos http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3185-7800

Kelly A Metcalfe http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1803-2169

Article

Publisher ID: v3i1e18

DOI: 10.2196/mhealth.3929

PMC ID: 4342621

PubMed ID: 25679749

SO-VID: 0bd166d6-a78a-466e-9503-8ccc97342480

License:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR mhealth and uhealth, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://mhealth.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.

History

Date received : 08 October 2014

Date revision requested : 03 November 2014

Date revision received : 20 January 2015

Date accepted : 21 January 2015

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